International Organizations

As defence chiefs from 26 countries gathered for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore in May, all eyes were on the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter and his Chinese counterpart Admiral Sun Jianguo, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of People’s Liberation Army. As expected, maritime disputes in the South China Sea dominated the event. However, another equally important topic for discussion were the security challenges faced by small states in the Asia Pacific.

Greece was the first non-member to be offered BRICS membership, even though ironically the association of the emerging economies is yet to take off. The New Development Bank (NDB) operated by the five member-countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) is all set to take off with an intention to develop economic relations amongst developing countries. It is considered to be an important institution since it is the first to be created by emerging countries with the hope to finance many important projects.

As the focus of the West was fixated in Greece and Iran, the 7th BRICS Summit began a massive shift from a dialogue to an economic partnership – one whose full impact will be witnessed in the coming years.

The seventh BRICS Summit took place in Ufa, the capital of Russia’s Bashkortostan Republic. In the West, most observers were preoccupied with the “make-or-break” days of Greece, which accounts for less than 0.4 percent of the global economy, rather than the BRICS Summit, which represents about 20 percent of the world economy.

After the Group of 7’s (G7) annual meeting in Germany – and with the world ready to adopt a new development agenda – it is crucial to ask whether the type of global leadership that has dominated the 20th century is fit for the challenges of the 21st.

The BRICS Development Bank launched. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is taking off.

Where is Nigeria?

As a slate of long-term projections suggest, Nigeria’s huge economic potential requires huge determination. When Muhammadu Buhari took over from Goodluck Jonathan, he ran on a platform of security and zero patience to corruption. Those are the preconditions for the creation of prosperity and growth.

Japanese policymakers received a shock when they heard in late March that 57 countries, including some of the United States’ closest allies, had applied to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). While China has steadily been on the rise, since the 2008 global financial crisis, the United States has found itself less able to engage with Asia as it once did. The resulting power vacuum has left the region more vulnerable to destabilisation.

The South China Sea has become a flashpoint for conflict between China and some of its ASEAN neighbours, particularly the Philippines and Vietnam. China’s recent land reclamation around the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands has also strained relations between China and the United States. While, as a non-claimant, the South China Sea is not of direct concern for Cambodia, it holds great relevance to Cambodia as a member in ASEAN.

In June 2015, negotiators concluded discussions in Singapore on draft Articles of Agreement of the nascent Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). India is a founding member of the AIIB and expects to have the second-largest shareholding after China. Global media attention has focused primarily on the challenge that the AIIB poses to the US-guided World Bank, and Japan-led Asian Development Bank (ADB), as well as the initially somewhat sour reception the AIIB has received from the US authorities.